Uproar over ant head in Portsmouth

Tuesday

PORTSMOUTH — Feelings of anger and disappointment ran through the heart of Market Square Monday as locals viewed the Giant Ant sculpture, now headless.

A man ripped off the bug's head over the weekend.

PORTSMOUTH — Feelings of anger and disappointment ran through the heart of Market Square Monday as locals viewed the Giant Ant sculpture, now headless.

A man ripped off the bug's head over the weekend.

The decapitation is alleged to have taken place early Sunday morning after 26-year-old Theodore Mottola of 68 McDonough St. is believed to have jumped on the sculpture, which was the creation of local artist Nathan Walker, in an attempt to rip its head off.

According to a press release, police responded to the area of Market Square at 1:05 a.m. after receiving witness reports that Mottola climbed on top of the 7-foot steel display that had been recently placed downtown as part of a public art initiative.

After speaking to witnesses who identified Mottola while he still at the scene, officers placed him under arrest and charged him with felony criminal mischief because of the monetary value of the art project.

Mottola was then processed at the local police department and released on $750 personal recognizance bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Portsmouth District Court on June 16.

According to Capt. Janet Champlin, Mottola damaged the piece of art to the extent that the 30-pound head was left dangling. Police were forced to outright remove the head because of safety concerns.

Champlin called the incident an unfortunate one and said the head is now in the evidence room at the police department and will be used in the mounting case against Mottola.

"That type of behavior unfortunately detracts from the beauty of downtown Portsmouth," she said.

Adding that it could take several weeks to return the head to the artist, Champlin noted police continue to be vigilant downtown where they must sometimes deal with drunken and disorderly people who are up to no good.

"We have a real issue with drunken and disorderly people in the downtown area," she said. noting that the majority of police calls over the weekend are to deal with people being disorderly and intoxicated.

Walker, the artist who is also a Stratham resident, expressed his grief Monday night, and told Foster's that he heard about the incident at 2 a.m. Sunday morning after police called his phone and left a message.

"I wasn't quite sure it was real until I called them back to find out the details," he said.

During the construction process, Walker said in the back of his mind he knew the ant would be susceptible to certain public interactions.

"I figured people would probably be taking pictures or try and climb on top of it," he said, "as far as the head goes I knew that it was the weakest link and I hoped that nothing would happen to it."

While acknowledging his disappointment, Walker said the news of the sculpture being damaged after only a week of being on display wasn't totally unexpected.

"I didn't think it would only be a week, before it was completely dissembled," he said.

Local residents Robert and Jessica Squier were walking by the site late Monday afternoon and were not only disappointed in the headless piece of art, but were enraged by the disrespect of the act.

"The sculpture is so cool and fun that I had hoped it would've been embraced by the community," said Robert Squier.

"I would've thought even the hoodlums would've respected it and appreciated it," he added.

Both residents admitted their sadness at the decapitation and expressed their hope that the piece of art would be restored as soon as possible.

Chris Greiner, chairman of the Overnight Art Committee in charge of placing the piece of art in the downtown also expressed sadness at seeing the headless ant.

"People have called to express their outrage," he said.

In an attempt to turn a bad situation into a positive one, Greiner said a benefit is slated for this evening at the Flatbread Company, located on Congress Street, which will serve as a fundraiser. A portion of dinner proceeds will be donated toward restoring the sculpture.

Greiner estimated the cost to repair the piece could be anywhere from $500 to $600 for supplies not including the time it would take for Walker to recreate the head.

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